The present invention relates to a vacuum based lifter device for displacement of an article, where at last one suction plate or suction cup is designed to be connected to and disconnected from a vacuum source, and where the suction plate or suction cup is secured to equipment in order that it can be moved together with or relative to said articles which are to be displaced. As an alternative, the invention relates furthermore to a solution where the equipment is secured to a support structure which can be introduced onto fork members mounted on a working unit, e.g., a fork-lift truck.
Although the present invention is illustrated and described in particular in connection with the lifting of barrels, such as oil barrels, it will immediately be understood that the device is just as suitable for lifting other types of articles, e.g., flat articles, such as plates.
The invention is intended especially to be used in connection with fork-lift trucks which are to load and unload articles, and possibly transport and empty barrels.
For some enterprises it is often difficult and laborious to be able to handle articles and perhaps handle them in connection with stands, shelves or similar.
The lifting devices which are found on the market today have attachment means which make utilisation in different types of work situations impossible. There are, e.g., barrel lifters which grip the ring of the barrel, but are only capable of horizontal displacement. There are also types which grip around the barrel with two arms.
Furthermore, the use of a clamp strap around the barrel is known whereby it is possible to turn the barrel, but a solution of this kind is cumbersome in use. Nor can it be used to place, e.g., the barrel on a stand or on a shelf.
For many years different types of lifting tackle have been made for articles of different shapes, e.g., barrels. Today there are several types of such lifters for barrels or other circular articles where both vertical and horizontal movement is made possible. The German firm Hoffmann Industribau has a hydraulic barrel lifter with two arms which can be pressed together. This device makes possible both vertical and horizontal lifting, but the arms are not suitable for placing of barrels on a stand, shelf or similar.
The German manufacturer Bauer is well-known for its various lifting tackle. To lift barrels a known so-called "nose clip" is used which can grip the barrel ring, but only permits vertical lift. Other means from the same manufacturer have, e.g., a clamp strap which grips around the barrel, whereby both vertical and horizontal movement are made possible, but this solution is not suitable for placing a barrel on a stand or shelf either.
It has also become evident that the lifters which are on the market today can only be used for one or two types of operation, and that consequently the field of application is too small, thus making the lifters too cumbersome and also costly to use. There is a lifter having two arms and which uses hydraulics, where the lifter must be connected to the fork-lift truck system. Known lifters of this type are also too heavy to be practical in use.
Other known devices can be seen from, e.g., German Offenlegungsschrift 2354899, 3515954 and US Pat. No. 4,978,269.